Business Golf Blog

5 VIP Golf Venues That Deliver ROI For Event Hospitality Programs

  

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Your company is committed to strengthening relationships with its key customers and has learned through past experience that it gets the greatest return from the corporate hospitality it purchases at major golf events. Below is an overview of the venues your head of sales is considering for Q2 and Q3 of 2012 and Q2 of 2013.

1. The Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

This is the first major of the year which takes place each April (Q2) and is the only major championship played at the same venue (Augusta National Golf Club) every year. The 2012 Champion, Bubba Watson, put on a show during the final round of The Masters and especially in the playoff to win his first green jacket.

It’s a prestigious venue to entertain your very important customers and guests. In two previous blog articles, we put forth some keys to success and best practices to help ensure that the CEOs invited to attend the Masters as your company’s guests have the sufficient lead time to ‘save the date’ and actually attend the event.

2. The U.S. Open,  Olympic Country Club, San Francisco, California (2012 venue)

Governed by the USGA, the U.S. Open is the most challenging test in American golf and is held at a different venue each year in June (Q2) with a select number of venues being played on a recurring basis. With regard to the latter, one such venue is the Olympic Country Club in San Francisco which is the host for this year’s 112th U.S. Open. Olympic has previously hosted the Championship in 1955, 1966 (Casper beat Palmer in playoff), 1987 and 1998.

In a previous blog article, we outlined several ways to add value to your event hospitality programs at the U.S. Open.   And as it turned out at Congessional last year, Rory McIlroy went wire to wire to win the U.S. Open with a record score of 16 under par.

3. The British Open, Royal Lithum & St. Annes Golf Club, Lancashire, England (2012 venue)

Known as The Open, the British Open is predominantly played at a links course each year in July (Q3) and gained prominence in America in the 1960s when Arnold Palmer won back-to-back Claret Jugs after finishing 2^nd on his first attempt across the pond.  And Tom Watson took links play to new heights by winning the British Open a record five times and came close to winning it for a record sixth time at the age of 59 years old.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke won the 2011 British Open at The Royal St. Georges Golf Club, holding off challenges from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson who finished in a tie for second place.

4. The PGA Championship,  Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina (2012 venue)

The PGA Championship is the final major on the schedule and is hosted by the PGA of America each year in August (Q3) at a different venue.  This year’s 94th PGA Championship will be held in South Carolina for the first time at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island.  According to defending PGA Champion Keegan Bradley who got his first look at the course on Media Day, “it will take a complete player to walk away with the Wannamaker Trophy.”

5. The Ryder Cup Matches, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois (2012 venue)

A rivalry between the best American and European players that takes place every two years in September (Q3), alternating between historic venues in the USA and in Europe respectively. The Matches are administered by both the PGA of America and the European PGA. This year’s Ryder Cup Team Captains are Davis Love III (America) and Jose Olazabal  (Europe).  The players compete for pride and country and you can be sure the Americans will be out to win back the Ryder Cup after their crushing loss to the Europeans in 2010 at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Our strategic partner, Bill Colvin, Colvin Sports Network, has been creating event hospitality programs at major championships and the Ryder Cup Matches for more than 25 years. In fact, one of his clients, Humana, will have hospitality at the Ryder Cup this Septemeber to show their support for both Humana Ambassador and Ryder Cup Team Captain, Davis Love III, and our U.S. Ryder Cup Team.

If you have questions for Bill regarding your VIP Golf plans and programs, he can be reached on his cell at 216-272-7779, via email: bill@colvinsports.com or you can follow him on Twitter: billcolvin.

To learn more about how your company can get the greatest return from its corporate hospitality programs, click on the buttons below.

Photo Credit, Inside The Ropes at The Masters: Colvin Sports Network

Photo Credit, British Open Luncheon: Colvin Sports Network